Teleidosaurus Explained

Teleidosaurus is an extinct genus of carnivorous metriorhynchoid crocodyliform from Middle Jurassic (late Bajocian to early Bathonian stage) deposits of Normandy, France.^{[1] [2]} The name Teleidosaurus means "Complete lizard", and is derived from the Greek Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: Teleidos- ("complete") and Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: [[wikt:σαῦρος|σαῦρος]] -sauros ("lizard").

Discovery

The type species was named Teleosaurus Calvadosii [Sic] by Jacques Amand Eudes-Deslongchamps in 1866;^[3] however, it was his son, Eugène Eudes-Deslongchamps who erected the generic name Teleidosaurus later in 1869^[4] for Teleosaurus calvadosii. Teleidosaurus joberti from the Great Oolite Formation is a junior synonym of T. calvadosii. T. calvadosii is known from the plastotype NHM R.2681, a complete skull and mandible and from NHM 32612, the plastotype of T. joberti, fragmentary right mandible. The holotype lost during the Second World War. However, some plastoholotypes of T. calvadosii were saved in the Natural History Museum, London, (NHMUK PV R 2681), the National Museum of Natural History, France, and the Museum of Nancy.

Classification

The only species within Teleidosaurus is the type species T. calvadosii. Both T. bathonicus and T. gaudryi where referred to Eoneustes.^[5] All species are from Calvados, Normandy of France. Phylogenetic analyses do not support the monophyly of Teleidosaurus.^{[1] [6]} Once considered a metriorhynchid, Teleidosaurus was later recovered as non-metriorhynchid metriorhynchoid.^[7]

Notes and References

1. Mark T. Young . Marco Brandalise de Andrade . 2009 . What is Geosaurus? Redescription of Geosaurus giganteus (Thalattosuchia: Metriorhynchidae) from the Upper Jurassic of Bayern, Germany . Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society . 157 . 3 . 551–585 . 10.1111/j.1096-3642.2009.00536.x . free .
2. Wilkinson LE, Young MT, Benton MJ. 2008. A new metriorhynchid crocodilian (Mesoeucrocodylia: Thalattosuchia) from the Kimmeridgian (Upper Jurassic) of Wiltshire, UK. Palaeontology 51 (6): 1307-1333.
3. Eudes-Deslongchamps, J.A. 1866. Description d'une espèce inédite de Téléosaure des environs de Caen, le Teleosaurus calvadosii. Bulletin Soc. Linn. Normandie 2 (1): 112-118.
4. Eudes-Deslongchamps, E. 1869. Notice sur les animaux fossiles de la famille des Téléosauriens recueillis en Normandie. Mémoires Acad. Imp. Sci. et Arts et Belles-Lettres: 31-80.
5. Mark T. Young . Stephen L. Brusatte . Marcello Ruta . Marco Brandalise de Andrade . 2010 . The evolution of Metriorhynchoidea (Mesoeucrocodylia, Thalattosuchia): an integrated approach using geometrics morphometrics, analysis of disparity and biomechanics . Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society . 4 . 158 . 801–859 . 10.1111/j.1096-3642.2009.00571.x . free .
6. Mueller-Töwe IJ. 2005. Phylogenetic relationships of the Thalattosuchia. Zitteliana A45: 211–213.
7. Stéphane Hua. May 2020. A new specimen of Teleidosaurus calvadosii (Eudes-Deslongchamps, 1866) (Crocodylia, Thalattosuchia) from the Middle Jurassic of France. Annales de Paléontologie. 106. 4. 10.1016/j.annpal.2020.102423.